Hollow

New York

Competition entry for Sukkah City, where one were asked to design a modern sukkah. A sukkah is a temporary hut created for an annual jewish harvest festival.

A large number of design constraints where implied in the competition, for example the sukkah had to have a roof made out of branches, but they couldn’t be in bundles, there of our construction technique, using compression.

As this sukkah is erected in one of the most populated and dense places on Earth filled with built structures and a stressful ambience it changes its function from its initial protection purpose from sandy winds and a blazing sun to a shelter from building mass, infrastructure, scale, city pace and constant movement. The intention is to build something that differs in scale and pace from the rest of the city. When entering the sukkah, you automatically slow your pace and behaviour and switches to a resting position due to the physical restrictions that makes up the space.

An undulated ceiling, never higher than a man’s length, changes the conditions for social interaction and behaviour. You are no longer able to perform as you are used to under normal circumstances, your strength and speed is reduced and you are no longer a potential physical threat to your surroundings. The different heights and thickness of the roof sets the atmosphere. The hollow reed changes its light and visible permeability by how thick it is.

The space itself comprises of two interlinked rooms; a social area for dining and interactions and a more closed space for sleeping and star gazing

Building manual

1. Material needed; Hollow reeds, saw, lopper, wooden planks.
2. The planks are cut up so they will form an interlocking adjustable frame which will hold the reeds in place.
3. The reeds are kept in an upright position with one of the planks and are adjusted back as the amount of reed is added.
4. The construction is watered with a mix of potato starch and water, making the reed swell and the wood frame expand a bit, thus making the construction more stable. The potato starch makes the reed a bit more sticky and holds everything together better.
5. The trimming of the reed can begin. Space is cut out according to the plan and the light intake can be adjustable by cutting the reeds shorter on top of the structure.